1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electronic measuring devices for measuring the volume of an object. The present invention is particularly concerned with electronic measuring devices which are used to measure the volume of freight carted in boxes by measuring the length, width, and height of each box. More particularly, the present invention is related to such devices used to dimension freight which are easy to use and fast to operate so that all the boxes in a particular shipment may be measured accurately and an accumulated total of the dimensional weight for that shipment of cargo may be obtained quickly.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many companies do not dimension freight which is shipped to them. The process of dimensioning freight can be slow and many companies do not question the shipments they receive. Freight is generally measured in volume. There are three major units of dimensional weight used today in industry; international dimensions, domestic dimensions, and truck dimensions. In order to dimension the freight received, the length, height, and width of each box shipped would have to be measured in order to determine the volume within each box. The accumulated volume would be the dimensional weight of the entire shipment. There are a variety of electronic measuring devices, some of which can measure distances as well compute areas and volumes.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,039 issued Sep. 13, 1968 to Irwin C. Porter discloses a hand-held map scaling device having a cylindrical shaped body with a tracing wheel projecting from a bottom end thereof. The device can be used to measure distances between points on a map and includes a distance converter for converting the number of inches measured to miles in accordance with an input map scale as well as a time converter for converting the number of inches measured to an estimated time of arrival based upon the vehicles speed as indicated by a rotatable cap located at the top end of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,249 issued Nov. 26, 1991 to Matthew Terrigno discloses a map scaling instrument having a tracing wheel at one end thereof. The instrument includes means for adjusting the scale and a liquid crystal display for displaying its output.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,313 issued Nov. 10, 1992 to Cornelis E. Rijlaarsadam discloses a hand-held electronic instrument shaped like a writing instrument with a tracing wheel located at one end thereof. The instrument can measure lengths, surface areas, and volumes. A selector switch is used to indicate the desired units of measurement. A built in calculator with memory keys allows the user to store various measured results and then calculate areas and volumes.
U. K. Patent Application 2,200,754 published Aug. 10, 1988 discloses a distance measuring device invented by Mark Reindrop which includes a tracing roller with an outer periphery thereof including a resilient "O" ring. The device measures distances in either inches or centimeters.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.